THL 5000 Daily Driver Review

As you might know I’ve been using the THL 5000 as my daily driver for quite some time, and I thought I’d do a review for the device as a daily driver, as it is useful for people who want this device as their main device.

Generally, this device is snappy and great for daily use, at least, for me. It has a 5000 mAh battery, which is also its main feature. The battery also allows for a MT6592 chipset clocked at a higher speed (2.0GHz), and a full-HD screen. The longest amount of time I’ve used the phone continuously after a full charge is two and a half days, which I might say, is pretty impressive.

Apps and usage: I have over 100 apps installed, and the phone still does not show significant lag. 2GB of RAM built into the phone also means that multitasking will work pretty well, and it certainly does. Chrome, WhatsApp, and a couple of games run in the background pretty well, although keeping Chrome open for a very long time can cause the device to lag while performing heavy tasks. The device is also root-able through iRoot, and I have also installed the Xposed framework, which works perfectly with Android 4.4.2.

Connectivity: Calls are clear enough to be heard, and texting using Hangouts works perfectly. 3G connectivity is strong, although it tends to be unstable when in a fast-moving vehicle. Wi-Fi signal is also very strong, in fact, slightly stronger than my Elephone P2000. Wi-Fi speeds are also decent. Bluetooth and NFC are, as usual, okay when used on the device. The NFC chip being positioned near the top of the device may prove to be a little inconvenient, although I got used to that in quite a short time.

Battery: As mentioned above, battery life is great when I first got the device. However, recently, the device refused to charge to 100%, and instead, charged to 87%, drained to 84%, then went up to 87% again, repeating until I unplugged the device. The cause of this is unknown, and I”m still trying to calibrate the device (the bigger the battery, the longer the calibration period). It could be a faulty battery, as it states on the battery label too, that the battery was manufactured in 2013, which is really long. I could be wrong though, and that could just be a serial number. Do leave a comment if you know how to fix this!

Gaming: Gaming on this device is extremely smooth, even smoother than the MT6592 chipset clocked at 1.7GHz. The full-HD screen also ensures that the graphics displayed are clearer than ever (except for those that have low resolution graphics). However, lag does happen when a download or app update is happening in the background while I’m gaming. This is, though, fairly normal for most devices.

System: The operating system, Android 4.4.2, runs perfectly and supports most apps. It is also really easy to use, with no bloatware or Chinese apps. The Float App in the settings menu is, though, the only thing that is included that you may not really need. It is a toolbox (much like Samsung’s Quick Toolbox) that opens a couple of tools, and cannot be hidden unless turned off. The operating system, despite not being heavily themed, does have icons put onto the respective apps, which is a disadvantage to me, as I am very wary of design language, and since the icons do not match the operating system’s theme, I had to use Unicon (Xposed) to re-theme the icons such that they look better and more fitting.

Hardware: The phone itself has almost all the sensors required on a typical Android phone, and that includes a gyroscope, which most MediaTek devices lack. That is great, as I can take photospheres using the Google Camera, which works perfectly. The screen, however, has an offset which causes the contents of the screen to move upwards by around 2 to 4 pixels (estimated). The bottom part which is offset is then replaced by the lowest row of pixels stretched out to accommodate the remaining space. I’m not really sure if this is a manufacturing defect, or a device-wide problem, but it still makes the status bar look odd, as everything is pushed to the top and cut off. Screenshots are still normal though, making this a hardware bug. Another problem would be that using the camera for a prolonged period of time will make the top part of the screen really warm; a similar problem is found in the P2000, but in the case of that device, it’s the screen and CPU that makes the device warm. In this case, the camera is, while having the screen constantly turned on does not make the device warm.

Aesthetics: Although looking cheap, the frame around the device and solid buttons make it great to show off. The back cover is unfortunately, very slippery, along with the sides which feels sticky if your hands are sticky for some reason. The size of the device also makes it great for putting into my jeans pockets.

Overall: I’ll be using this phone for quite some time, if I get the battery problem fixed, that is. I may have to replace the battery entirely if it’s a hardware fault. That aside, the device is really great for a daily driver, and if anyone out there is looking for a device with excellent battery life, I’ll suggest getting this. Do use a 1.5A or 2A charger though, as the 1A charger THL provides charges the phone really slowly.

If you want to buy this device, you can get it at Vifocal.com, or click here to directly go to the product page. Do leave your comments and let me know what you think of this review! Also, if you are a user of this device, let me know what you think about it too.